


Rebuilding Us

by AveyBunny31



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Rumbling, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan Manga Spoilers, Some Established Relationships, Ymir Lives, marco lives, other dead characters survive, sasha lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-21 07:47:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30018468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AveyBunny31/pseuds/AveyBunny31
Summary: Manga spoilers up to and including chapter 138!!The pure titans around them were falling, almost all at once, collapsing on top of one another. The shifters had stopped moving completely too, almost as if they were dead, falling to the ground and being pushed forcefully out of their titans one by one. Falco and Pieck looked sick for a minute, both crouching down and holding their heads groaning in pain, something was clearly happening to all of them. Then, looking up from the pair, Mikasa realized what had been happening. The pure titans were starting to disintegrate, a huge cloud of steam rising over them from the sheer number of dying titans before them.After just a few moments of standing in shock, all of the titans were dead. Finally, it was over.After the devastation of the rumbling and the death of Eren Yeager, the survivors attempt to rebuild Paradis, the world and themselves.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart, Gabi Braun/Falco Grice, Implied Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager - Relationship, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein, Reiner Braun/Connie Springer, Sasha Blouse/Niccolo
Comments: 13
Kudos: 45





	1. Nightmares and Hope

“This is the end.. For us...”

In the painfully slow seconds before Connie, Jean and every Eldian around them took their final breaths, Connie felt oddly calm, he had accepted that this was the end for them, he knew he could leave it up to the others to finish this, to save the world. He could hear Pieck’s screams for Gabi from a distance, and could hear Gabi's panicked voice asking Sasha "what's happening? why are they leaving us?"

He wondered where the others were right now, Marco had left with Annie to help her find her father just a few minutes ago, that was just like him really. The chance of them surviving was pretty impossible, they were closer to the source of the gas than the rest of them were, which he felt fill his lungs, the same way it had killed his parents before him. He believed it anyway, that Marco lived, for a final moment of peace at the end, to know a friend survived. His very last thought was of his mother, still atop his house, he hoped that someone would keep visiting her with him gone.

* * *

Connie blinked opened his eyes to a familiar scene from a few nights before, standing around a fire in the forest back on Paradis. It was hazy though, and he couldn't speak or move. _a dream?_ He thought to himself, he should be dead, but he supposed this was the nightmares Ymir had mentioned from her time as a titan.

Hanji was making stew over the fire, taking quietly to a resting Levi next to them, covered in bandages from the earlier explosion, while the others from their odd group glared at and bickered with each other. People were understandably on edge around the enemy soldiers, if they could even be called that anymore. Most of the distrust was between Jean, angry as ever, and Magath, who was calling them devils and spouting the usual marleyan propaganda as usual, as well as Yelena trying to incite violence as expected of her by now.  


As the time had gone by though, the group had settled down and started talking more friendly, mostly because Yelena and Magath had fallen asleep, though.  
Connie smiled at the sight before him, it hurt to see Hanji after what happened to them not too long after this, but it was nice to see them talking happily to Levi and Onyankopon, arguing playfully together over if flying titans could exist someday.  


Marco was cheerfully talking to Annie, who had come out of her shell a little since leaving the crystal, it was odd to see them as friends now, but wasn’t surprising really. Marco could probably befriend anyone, he was probably the kindest among them, and according to them Annie was the only reason he was still alive right now, after refusing Reiner’s order to leave him to die all those years ago. Jean still held a grudge against Reiner for that, but was also talking to them both a bit anyway, and not so subtly holding Marco’s hand.  


It was so obvious that they were together even to Connie, who was usually oblivious to those kinds of developments.  
He probably wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation, with most of his attention clearly on the other man next to him, smiling a little as he listened to him talk excitedly about something with Annie, and Armin who had joined the conversation.

On the other side of the group, Sasha was brushing Gabi’s hair and talking to her about her favourite Marleyan foods Niccolo was going to make for them when they got back, to help her calm down. She was always so kind, even to a girl that had very nearly killed her not long ago, Connie wondered if he would have even survived this long if Sasha had died, nothing would have broken him more.

Gabi was a lot more shaken up than most of the group after everything that had been happening, having to understand in such a short amount of time that she was wrong, and that everything she learnt in Marley had been lies was taking its toll on her. Much like Falco, who was still mourning his brother, leaning on Reiner who was trying to comfort him somewhat, distracting him by talking about some happy time they all spent together in the past to cheer him up. It was somewhat comforting to Connie, that despite all the horrible things Reiner had done, he still seemed like that “big brother” type of person they all thought he was before. Even Pieck seemed happy, napping in her titan form as that was more comfortable for her.  
It was a peaceful scene, it would feel almost perfect if he didn’t know the events that had lead to it, and the ones about to unfold.

Some nightmare it was, everything was fine, happy even. He was just glad to see the faces of his friends again.

The scene changed in a single blink. 

Connie knew this was wrong. Sasha and Marco were gone now, _why were they gone?_  
The peaceful scene was instead replaced by more of the arguing from before, but much louder and angrier. The air was full of sadness and pain. Marco wasn't here because he was dead, and Annie and Reiner had killed him. Annie wasn't smiling shyly when talking to friends here, instead she looked horrified, by her own actions and of the reaction of Jean. Sasha was dead, too, by Gabi’s hand. She was still shaking in the corner, but her hair stayed un-brushed, and she wouldn't look anyone in the eye. The yelling got louder and louder, before Jean started physically attacking Reiner, punching him as hard as he could, and he didn’t even fight back.  


The scene changed again, and he instead all he could see was death. Marco, Sasha, Hanji, Erwin, and Bertholdt too. All of them screaming and crying for him to save them, before brutally dying in ways that made him feel sick, some of them real, some of them fabricated like Reiner and Marco, who he knew had to be alive still, right? He couldn’t move an inch to save them, only able to cry as he watched his friends die over and over around him.

This was truly a nightmare.

* * *

“See you soon, Eren.”

Mikasa finally let herself cry, unable to stop after the first tear had escaped, Eren was really dead.  
Holding the now lifeless head of the man she once loved, she cried, she knew it had to be done, and it had to be her, but she couldn't help the tidal wave of grief that crashed into her the second the realised what she had done.

She dropped the head to the ‘floor’ below her, she couldn't bear to look at it any longer. Then turned quickly, feeling Eren's titan start to move ever so slightly forward, no longer having anything to control it. Not wanting to stay a second longer than she had to, she walked towards the opening she came in through, and was surprised to notice a young girl standing there, smiling at her. It must be Ymir, she thought. She didn’t care enough to question it, it was all over now. She ran right past the smiling girl and climbed out from the opening at the teeth of Eren’s titan. She looked down, it was a long way to the ground. She almost considered letting herself fall, what does she really have left to lose? She could be with Eren again in the afterlife if she died. But then she spotted Armin from the corner of her eye, tearing himself from his titan, looking exhausted. She could never do that to him, leaving him alone after everything would be too cruel, she still had to live, as long as Armin was alive, as well as their other surviving friends, she had family to live for.

Instead of falling she waited, Falco flew over to her finally, with Levi and Armin on his back already. The four of them reached the ground safely, landing next to where Pieck had ended up, far away enough to be safe from the titans, but able to see the commotion still happening on the ground. As Eren’s titan fell slowly into the ocean, with a thud that shook through the ground like a wave for just a moment.

the ground began to shake more, though the remains of Eren's titan were no longer the source.

_“I’m sorry.”_

The words were just a whisper, nearly inaudible, Mikasa would have thought she imagined it if the others hadn’t heard it too, Levi and Pieck having the same thought as the three looked at each other, knowing they all thought the same thing. A final message through the “paths”, she thought, it had to be him, it had to be Eren. Then the source of the ground shaking became clear. The strange insect-like creature that had released all that gas and sentenced all the friends they had left to early deaths, as well as most of their families. The four survivors hid behind the remains of a building as the creature thrashed around, it seemed almost distressed. Reiner, despite the damage to his titan, was trying to keep it still. Though the small army of titans were still clinging to him from every angle, he would probably be devoured soon, and there was nothing they could really do without dying themselves. And then the creature stopped wriggling in the titan's arms, it started shrinking and shriveling up, until it disappeared completely into a cloud of steam. It was dead, somehow, and so fast. Had it been Eren? Or perhaps that girl form before? Mikasa didn’t have time to think, before she could, she saw the effect of the creature’s unexpected death.

The pure titans around them were falling, almost all at once, collapsing on top of one another. The shifters had stopped moving completely too, almost as if they were dead, falling to the ground and being pushed forcefully out of their titans one by one. Falco and Pieck looked sick for a minute, both crouching down and holding their heads groaning in pain, something was clearly happening to all of them. Then, looking up from the pair, Mikasa realized what had been happening. The pure titans were starting to disintegrate, a huge cloud of steam rising over them from the sheer number of dying titans before them.

After just a few moments of standing in shock, all of the titans were dead. Finally, it was over.

* * *

_“Gabi!!”_

Falco watched as her titan collapsed with a crash onto the ground not far from him and was rapidly deteriorating, much faster than titans usually would. It was unmistakably her, no matter how much the titan form warped her features, it was her. He remembered Reiner’s words, he had to protect her no matter what, and he still had a chance.

The air was getting hotter than anything he’d ever felt before the closer he got to the hoard of dying titans, but he didn’t care at all, he ran as fast as his small legs could carry him, ignoring Armin’s yell for him to stay close to the group. He hoisted himself up to the nape of what remained of the dead titan, only struggling a little, and felt around for her. She had to still be alive, he didn't know how he’d keep living if she wasn’t!

He started to panic when he found nothing at the nape. It was hopeless anyway wasn’t it? He was sure they had never found human remains inside the dead titans before anyway, she was probably dead. But then he caught a glimpse of red-brown hair, it was unmistakably her, curled up in a ball, unconscious and still breathing, in the center of where the now mostly evaporated titan had once been, he let out the breath he had been holding the whole time, and climbed through the bones of her titan, kneeling next to her and brushing off any remaining chunks of titan flesh left on her. He could feel tears start to gather at the corners of his eyes as he realized he had done it, he had helped to protect Gabi, somehow they made it through everything.

He hugged her, resisting his need to cry, and then realized the others didn’t know. He acted as quickly as he could, pulling her up with little difficulty bridal-style, climbing back through the crumbling skeleton, and running back towards the others. He had to tell them. “THEY’RE ALIVE” he yelled it as loud as his body would allow him to, so that anyone alive near them could know. The tears finally managed to escape his eyes as he did, and he was fully sobbing as he reached Mikasa again, the only one still there, the rest had ran as fast as they could to find the others the second they heard him. 

Armin ran straight towards where he had seen Annie and Marco, it didn’t matter that he was exhausted, he had to make sure she was okay. By the time that he got there, weaving through the crowd of panicked Marleyans trying to figure out what was happening, Annie was already out of her titan, sobbing as she tried to pull her father out of a titan that was still partially intact. Marco was sprawled out next to her, unconscious but alive on the ground. Armin put a hand gently on her shoulder, an an attempt to give her a little comfort. She turned, surprised, and they locked eyes for a second, he could see the mix of pain and relief in her teary eyes, her cold personality abandoned for just a few moments.

She smiled for a second, a little calmer than before, able to compose herself enough to actually help her father. Armin pulled Marco onto his back, after all he’d been though in the past few hours - carrying one person felt like nothing despite his exhaustion. The titan around Mr Leonhart had evaporated enough to pull him out completely, Annie supported him with one shoulder, but she couldn’t do it alone, she was so clearly tired and her usual strength was gone. luckily she didn't need to ask for help. Armin supported her father’s other side, and the two carried them back towards where Mikasa and Falco were.

Back where Levi and Pieck were helping out, the pair were working on gathering the Braun family, as well as Pieck's father and Falco’s family. Some had woken up quickly, while others were still unconscious, like Gabi, who Falco was still cradling in his arms, unwilling to let go, as he kept crying, unable to stop once he’d started earlier. Mikasa was awkwardly trying to comfort him, rubbing circles on his back as gently as she could, it was all she really knew how to help.

She wasn't the best with emotional things that didn’t include herself. Though the more she thought of it, the more she realized that she could sort of sympathize with the kid. She knew that a few years ago, she’d acted similarly when finding out Eren was still alive, the first time the attack titan had appeared in Trost. It hurt to think about now that he was gone, but It felt like forever ago, that first time he became a titan, she remembered the grief she'd felt before she realized he was alive, and the relief that he was, she probably looked just like Falco did now.

She eventually gave up, and helped Levi to find Sasha, who was lying on the ground near where Falco had found Gabi, looking as if she had just fallen asleep after eating too much at lunch, sleeping way too peacefully for this situation. Mikasa smiled to herself a little, and pulled her scarf over her nose so she didn’t have to breathe in the smell of the titans dying around her as she scooped up her friend, lifting her with ease and letting Levi know she’s found her before returning to Falco, she didn’t want to leave him alone too long despite desperately wanting to help find her friends.

Despite his injuries from fighting the creature from before, Reiner was helping too, he had found Connie and Jean soon after leaving his titan, they had been trying pretty hard to eat him so it wasn’t difficult to find the pair straight away in the pile of titans next to his disintegrating titan. he pulled them lose from the titans and threw the two over his shoulders easily, with only a little pain from his injuries and a tiny protest from a half-conscious Jean. That made Reiner smile despite everything.

Despite everything, he was alive, his family was alive, and he still had friends left. 

There was hope for a future for all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! this is my first ever fic, I wanted to make a happier ending than the series will probably have after reading 128... and to bring back some characters that deserved much better. Any suggestions or feedback in the comments would be appreciated! :)


	2. Reunion

Connie shot up, waking in a cold sweat from his nightmare, his breathing was unsteady and he was slightly gasping for breath as he tried to calm himself down and comprehend what had just happened. It had felt like forever, watching everyone die over and over, more death than anyone should have to see in a lifetime. The last 10 minutes or so before falling asleep was a blur, though. All he could remember was that he should probably be dead right now.

He finally got out of his thoughts and looked around the room, it was clearly the middle of the night, judging from the darkness and lack of anyone noticing him wake up. He was in some sort of makeshift tent, it looked like it had been put up quickly with anything they could find. He was grateful for the light peeking in through holes and tears in the roof, otherwise he’d be totally blind to his surroundings.

Using the dim moonlight to try understand his surroundings and situation, he realized that he wasn't alone. Lying on the bed next to him was Reiner, he couldn’t see that well, but could tell it was him, he was huge afterall, and his blond hair was hard to miss. He looked skinnier than usual though, a little pale too, though that could just be from the light. His face was covered in small scratches, with a few deeper injuries here and there, there were probably more that he couldn’t see too. It seemed like they had been healing for a while already too, how long had he been out?

There weren’t many others in the room, only a few civilians that he didn’t really recognise, the only one he could recognise was Gabi, who was sleeping quietly in a bed to his left. He rubbed his eyes, still feeling physically exhausted despite probably being asleep for a while, and ran a hand through his short hair, it had grown out a lot more than usual, and grossly wet with sweat. He lazily rolled to his right to get up, dragging his weak body to-

“Oh, hey Reiner.” He was surprised to see him fully awake already, he could have sworn he was sound asleep just seconds before. Reiner didn’t say anything yet, just staring at him, surprised to see him awake. Feeling awkward, Connie stood up finally, feeling a little wobbly.

“Took you long enough to wake up.” Reiner finally snapped out of his shock and spoke, slowly standing up too, then gestured to his shoulder kind of vaguely, silently offering for Connie to lean on him. Was it that obvious that he was struggling?

He shook his head though, way too stubborn to accept help “I can walk perfectly fine.” he said defiantly, before taking one step forward and losing his balance, immediately tripping over the edge of the bundle of sheets that made up his bed, and falling to the ground with a yelp and a loud _**thud**_. Ouch, that was probably going to leave a bruise.

Reiner sighed, exasperated “You and Sasha really _are_ twins.” he recalled her doing the exact same thing yesterday, refusing help from Armin out of stubbornness, and falling flat on her face. “Jean even made a bet on whether you’d do the same thing, I owe him my lunch now, you stubborn ass.” he said, feigning annoyance and letting himself laugh a little.

“Sasha?” Connie perked up, sitting up from his awkward position lying on the ground, completely ignoring everything else the blond had just said “She’s okay too?” relief washed over him, he wasn’t the only one to survive all that “and Jean?” He looked hopeful, glad his own survival wasn’t just some fluke.

Reiner nodded “Yeah, Sasha woke up yesterday morning, and Jean was only out for an hour or so. You’re actually the last to wake up.” he trailed off for a second and frowned, thinking, unsure if he wanted to give Connie the ego boost his next words would almost definitely bring “We were getting worried about you, all of us.” 

As if on cue, Connie smiled, wide and mischievous “Ohh, really? Everyone? Even Annie? Even Levi and Mikasa? They were worried about me?” He liked the idea of people as cold as them worrying for him.  
“Yes, everyone.” Reiner said, a little irritated at the predictable reaction, but also glad, it was nice to see his energetic old self despite everything that had happened.

Connie sat gently back onto his bed, still grinning, he needed to rest before trying to walk again, so that he didn’t just embarrass himself again. His expression became a little more serious “So, how long was I out?” he looked up at Reiner, irritated that he even _had_ to look up at the taller man. He was curious but a little worried about the answer.

“Two days.” he paused for a moment to let Connie take in the information “Most people woke up after a few hours, like Jean did, and everyone slowly woke up one by one after that.” he ran his hand through his hair and continued “The other shifters and I ended up falling asleep for a while too after things calmed down. By the end of today almost everyone was awake, everyone except for you that is.” he shifted awkwardly in his seat for a moment, “Sasha made me promise to keep an eye on you while she couldn’t, since most of them are busy or have to stay in bed to recover - and well, Annie didn’t want to do it.” he laughed a bit to himself at that, there’s no way he would have been the first choice.  
It was a bit odd for Connie to hear Reiner laugh, even if it seemed a little self-depreciating, after everything that had happened.

He remembered then, what he was pushing to the back of his mind the whole time, what Reiner had done. It was conflicting, he had killed so many, and ruined the lives of more. He’d betrayed the trust of everyone, and lied to them all. Hell, he almost had _Marco_ killed! He got a bit too worked up thinking about it, shifting uncomfortably towards the edge of the bed, away from Reiner. 

When he forced himself to look up again, Reiner was looking at him, confused at the sudden change in demeanor. “Is something..” he didn’t finish the sentence, it was obvious what was wrong, he’d experienced this too many times yesterday not to notice.

As Reiner moved to get up, Connie remembered something different. He remembered Reiner trying to comfort him while he cried after finding his village desolated, when nobody else did. He remembered him risking his life to save him from a titan at Utgard Castle, he wouldn't even be here if it wasn’t for Reiner almost throwing himself out of a window for him.

Reiner reached the exit of the tent, pulling the cloth aside to leave “Sorry. I'll get Sasha for you, she’ll probably be mad that I haven’t alrea-”  
“No!” He cut him off. “It's okay! _I’m_ sorry, this is just a little difficult still, you don’t have to leave.” he avoided eye contact. “You’re still my friend Reiner.” he could feel a slight blush creeping onto his face, from just how embarrassing his words were. It was a good thing Reiner couldn’t see him well enough to notice, or he’d definitely be making fun of him right now.

Reiner was taken aback by his response, none of the others had been the same way when he’d tried to talk with them, they just apologized as he’d left. He hesitated, unsure if he should really stay.

“Come onnn, sit back down, you have to tell me what I missed!” Connie grinned, back to how he had been acting before, confusing the taller man even more.“And, can you tell me what happened before I fell asleep? It’s still a bit blurry after we got to Marley.” he frowned.

Reiner sighed yet again, though this time he was just relieved to have one friend treat him the same as usual. He sat back down on his bed, and began to fill Connie in on what he had forgotten and what he had missed.

* * *

“So, everyone is okay? No more titans?” The sun was starting to rise, and they were still talking.

“None at all” Reiner groaned, it wasn’t the first time he’d asked that one. “The titans died, and the Eldians they came from returned.”

“But wait, what about you? And the titan shifters? You’re still here.” Connie rolled over to his stomach, so he could better see Reiner.

“I think we’re just back to being normal humans now, or at least, we can’t use them anymore.” He looked down at his injuries, nothing too bad, just some scrapes here and there, but they hadn’t fully healed yet, which was enough to know something was different. “Me and Annie were forced out of our titans when the creature died, like I told you an hour ago, and we haven’t been able to use them since.” Reiner was lying across his bed on his back with his eyes closed now, answering all of Connie’s weird questions was tiring, but kind of fun. Though he wouldn’t admit that part out loud.

“Hhm, okay, my turn.” Reiner opened his eyes, considering if he really wanted to ask for a moment, “Do you think everyone can forgive me?” The question caught Connie off guard, it was weird for Reiner to ask _him_ of all people, he wasn’t exactly the smartest of the scouts.

“Uhhm, probably, I think so.” it was an awkward response, it was difficult even for him to ignore the past right now, so who knows what everyone else will do. “I think I’ll forgive you, and Sasha too. Marco probably already has.” Reiner smiled a little at that, “Yeah, probably.”

“Besides, you can’t be a bad person really, maybe I’m just stupid, but I don’t think it’s possible.” for once he was confident with his response, there's no way Reiner would have saved his life if he was truly a bad person.

Reiner was conflicted, on one hand, he was glad that at least someone didn’t hate him, but on the other, he felt that he was definitely wrong about him, after all he’d done, there was no way he was good.

Neither of them spoke for a while, that last question had left them in a comfortable silence. The sun had started to rise now, sunlight began to slowly pour into the room, giving Connie a better view of his surroundings. He wondered if Reiner had fallen asleep, until he spoke again.  
“Thanks for not hating me, Connie.” At that, he turned away, probably trying to get a last bit of sleep before the fast approaching morning. Connie smiled, he was glad he’d made him stay, he’d probably been feeling pretty isolated around everyone else. Connie was glad to still be a good friend still, even after all Reiner had done.

* * *

Connie sat up again in bed, he hadn’t gone back to sleep, but he’d probably had enough sleep for a month over the last two days, so he didn’t really feel tired yet. He wasn’t really willing to risk returning to the nightmare anyway. The sun was starting to peek through the gaps in the hastily made tent, so he imagined it was morning by now. 

His legs felt a little more steady when he stood, but he probably wouldn’t be able to walk much alone.  
His stubbornness kept him from waking up Reiner to ask for help, but luckily he woke up after just a few minutes, Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sitting up, noticing Connie’s nervous shifting as he was mentally preparing to ask for help.

Reiner sighed yet again, he was doing that a lot lately, but this time it was a happy one of sorts, it was kind of funny to see Connie squirm, determined to not ask.

“Come on, Sasha’s going to kill me if I don’t tell her about you.” Reiner stood finally and stretched, his muscles still felt sore and stiff from the last battle, It was weird to not just heal everything after a few hours like he usually would.

Connie nodded and stood up again, reluctantly putting a hand on Reiner’s shoulder for support, and they left the small tent.

* * *

Outside, Mikasa had been awake for a while, it was still difficult for her to sleep, so she had gotten up before anyone else to avoid having to talk, and sat outside below a tree.  
She pulled her scarf to just below her eyes, and listened to the sounds of the people around her starting to wake.  
The wound was still so fresh, Eren was really dead, but felt like the only one mourning him. Armin was too, she knew that, but it felt like most others were celebrating, she was glad to an extent too - she had lost him long before he physically died, she knew that, but it still hurt.

Levi and Armin had woken early too, they had way too much work to be sleeping in, Levi was in charge of keeping track of survivors and missing people, it would be a disaster if they couldn't give people’s family answers, so someone had to do it.

Armin, as the new commander of the scouts, was trying to make some sort of peace with the Marleyans in place of Historia, who couldn't get there yet, they didn’t exactly have any boats left after the rumbling, and any on their way wouldn’t get here until tomorrow.

Connie and Reiner arrived at the clearing where the other three were, surrounded by at least 20 tents just like the one they had slept in, Connie guessed that they were probably specifically for the Eldians who had become titan’s like he had, or just recovering Eldians in general, he doubted Marley had changed their views overnight.

Upon noticing them, Armin, who had been arguing with some Marleyan official, ran over to the pair smiling. “You woke up! We were all worried!” he carefully hugged him, glad to have one more friend still alive. He gestured for Levi to join them, who looked surprisingly relieved. “The last one, finally.” Levi looked understandably exhausted, the last few days had been hell for everyone, he really deserved some rest.

Reiner left to find Sasha, while Armin took Connie to find a change of clothes, he was still wearing his uniform from the battle, and it didn’t smell great after being inside a titan, and slept in for two days.

After a quick wash and some clean clothes, Connie felt a lot more relaxed, he rejoined Armin in the clearing, they had set up a large table in the middle for them to sit at, he was grateful to not have to walk anymore. He chose a chair at random and sat down, lying forward to rest on the table, and waited for Reiner to return with Sasha. Armin sat down too, working on a pile of paperwork.

It didn’t take long to hear fastly approaching footsteps, and a familiar “CONNIEEEE.” he shot up and spun around to the direction of the shout and was met with Sasha already in front of him, and jumping at him to envelop him in the biggest hug he’d ever got. “I’m so glad you’re okay! We got worried you wouldn’t wake up!” She was already crying loudly and messily, hugging him so tight he thought his ribs might break. “Yeahh I know, couldn’t go dying on you Sasha.” He finally was able to wiggle his arms free of her grasp to hug her back, smiling so wide it hurt. He was really so glad to see her again, he really didn’t think they’d both make it through this, they were so lucky to be here together.

A minute later he saw Reiner again, bringing Jean, Marco and Annie with him, though he was kind of trailing behind the three.  
“Wow” he started, as it dawned on him “This feels like we’re back at training.” he smiled, most of his friends from back then were right here in front of him. Of course they were missing Historia and Ymir, who were still back on Paradis, and those who they had lost along the way.

He looked around the table, where Jean had sat himself opposite to Connie, leaning back precariously in his chair, with Marco next to him, comforting a still-crying Sasha, even Annie and Reiner, with the former probably dragged there by Marco, sat next to him trying to keep up her cold demeanor, and Reiner who was further down the table, keeping a distance but still here at least. Even Mikasa had sat herself at the end of the table, though she didn’t talk to any of them.

Connie could feel himself getting a bit emotional at the sight, everyone slipping back into their old ways, chatting happily, they had aged, and had losses, but at the end of the day, they were still the same.

A few tears managed to escape his eyes, that he wiped away immediately, “I love you guys.” He couldn't stop crying now that he’d started, happy to still have people to live for after everything, to have his family.

His crying just made Sasha get more emotional, leaning on him and crying loudly, he could see Jean was tearing up a little too, but acted like he wasn't. Marco noticed this and smiled, leaning to rest his head on the other’s shoulder for a little comfort.

* * *

After a long, emotional morning, the group decided it was time to eat, and by the group, that meant Sasha. Armin had left the table already, he had to help Levi with some more official junk, but promised he would talk to them later. Mikasa had left silently too after Armin, she seemed exhausted just from being around them, which was fair, they had gotten pretty loud.

Jean, Annie and Sasha left to find them some food, leaving Connie alone with Marco and Reiner.

He was glad to have a moment of peace, he loved seeing his friends again but they were way too energetic for his current state. He rested his head on the table again for a minute.

“Man, we got really lucky didn’t we?” Marco was smiling as he watched the group leave, he was right, realistically most of them shouldn’t be here by now, hell it was a miracle he had even made it this far, he had had his life saved by the others too many times to count, they had all kept each other alive in some way over the years.

“Yeah,” Connie started, looking up at him “we really did.” he smiled, his tiredness probably showing on his face.

Marco smiled back, he looked a lot more tired than usual, though Connie realised he probably looked much worse himself. Marco pushed his hair back with one hand and leant back in his chair a little. “Hah, you’re turning into Jean.” Connie commented with a grin.

“I am _not_!” Marco responded defiantly, looking playfully angry and sitting normally again, his face bright red.

“Yep, you looked _just_ like him then!! What a bad influence, he’s ruined our pure sweet Marco and turned him into a _rule breaker!!_ ” Connie said, dramatically pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.  
“Sitting back in a chair is _not_ rule breaking you… you _shorty!!_ ” Was Marco’s poor attempt at fighting back, he was way too nice.

“Uh huh, there it is, the insults! You're just like him!” Connie continued, he took a peek over at Reiner, who looked like he was holding back a laugh. “That evil horse-man has _corrupted_ you!” with that, all three of them burst into laughter, even Reiner.  
“Noo” Marco managed through gasps for air as he laughed “No he’s a good influence!!” he laughed more, “Really! He’s great!” they kept laughing. 

“Hmm, maybe, I think you’re the one that’s a good influence on him though.” Connie was still chuckling a little, but he was right, Jean’s hotheadedness had definitely calmed down after a few years with Marco, though Marco’s confidence in himself had improved a lot over the years too, which was probably thanks to Jean.

Connie noticed Reiner’s expression had changed, he seemed conflicted.

He was trying to decide if he should join the conversation, he was enjoying listening to their joking, but he desperately wanted to join in, as he would have in the past, but, he was holding himself back. He knew Marco still wasn’t fully comfortable with him, no matter how much he pretended he was, and he didn’t want to ruin their fun.

Connie had noticed this avoidance of them earlier, so he thought he probably knew the reason.  
He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he just moved seats, shifting to his left a few spaces to sit opposite Reiner, it was all he could really think of to try make him feel better. Marco caught on to this and moved a little closer too, continuing their conversation.

Reiner rolled his eyes half-heartedly, trying not to smile, as he noticed Connie’s obvious attempt at cheering him up. It was working though, he didn’t know why the guy cared so much when the others could barely tolerate being around him too long, but he was glad.

* * *

It didn’t take long for Sasha, Annie and Jean to return with food, it wasn't much, supplies were understandably low at the moment, but it would be enough to ease their hunger for now. Sasha had a pile of potatoes, probably enough for half each, piled up in her arms precariously, while Jean held a few small loaves of bread, and Annie brought some plates, with a jug of water and some cups balanced perfectly on top.

They sat back down, positioned slightly differently to before due to Connie’s move, so Reiner had no choice but to sit close to everyone, since they all wanted to talk to the newly awakened Connie. Jean sat himself down back next to Marco, looping his arm through the other man’s and quickly kissing him on the shoulder before focusing on distributing the food amongst them.

Marco shot a look at Connie who had started to open his mouth, as if to say _“don't you dare!”_ which Connie promptly ignored, letting out a yell of “You two are too cute it’s _grossss!!_ ” and giggling, sending the rest of the table into laughs too, the pair turning bright red, with Marco having to hold Jean back from jumping the table to attack Connie, shouting more insults than Connie even knew _existed._

* * *

It was probably midday by now, the sun was high in the sky as they ate, it had been a surprisingly good day despite the horrors happening just a few days ago, Connie was glad he’d missed the immediate aftermath, not that the nightmare he had in it's place was any better.

Jean had fallen asleep after eating and tiring himself out with his yelling, he was meant to be resting after all, and was now lying across Marco’s lap, who was playing with the brunette’s hair absentmindedly, with his own eyes closed. Sasha had fallen asleep immediately after her meal as she often did, drooling on the table and mumbling something about Niccolo’s cooking.

Armin had returned at some point, and was talking with Annie, who looked somewhat happy for once, smiling ever so slightly as Armin rambled on about something he read in a book. Connie was glad to see she had some people she could let her walls down around, she deserved that after all she’d been through.

Connie yawned, he probably should rest too, he thought. “Okay, I need a nap, I'm going to head back to the tent” he said in a quiet voice to avoid waking Jean and Sasha, and then standing, leaning on the table slightly for support. 

“Ah, I'll go too, I should check on Gabi.” Reiner stood hastily and moved around the table to where Connie was, ready to help him if he needed it. Connie leant over to hug the still sleeping Sasha, and then held onto Reiner’s shoulder again to keep himself steady “thanks.” he murmured begrudgingly.

Marco looked over at Connie, grinning and wiggled his eyebrows at him, giggling quietly to himself, _Bastard’s trying to get revenge on me._ Connie thought, feeling a blush creeping up his face “it's not _like that_ you ass.” he mumbled, too tired to protest more than that. Reiner just looked down confused, realizing he’d definitely missed something important. 

Marco smiled smugly, content with his revenge, and turned his attention back to the still sleeping Jean as the other two left _God, they really were alike now._

They reached the tent and Reiner helped Connie to sit back down, before sitting on his own bed. “Ah, Gabi isn’t here.” Connie noted, spotting the empty bed, they must have missed her getting up earlier. “Yeah, she probably went to see Falco in the shifter’s tent." he smiled a little before continuing, "those two have been pretty inseparable since he found her.”

“Yeah makes sense.” Connie hummed, nodding, he lied back in his bed before continuing. “You should go back to everyone outside then, they probably haven’t gone back to their tents yet.” Reiner shook his head, frowning “Nah, I think giving them space is better, they probably still don’t trust me.”

 _Gahh, this again?_ “Yeah, whatever, I still think you’re wrong about that.” Connie turned to face him more. “Maybe.” Reiner admitted. “But I’d rather not try my luck.” he added.

“Fine then, but that means you’re going to be subjected to more of _Connie’s dumbass questions_ until I fall asleep, as punishment.” Connie said with a wide grin.

“Fine by me.” Reiner said as he lied back too, his arms folded behind his head. He closed his eyes,feeling surprisingly peaceful for once. It was nice to have these moments, where he could ignore everything going on, and the weight of his actions, none of that mattered in this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, yaay, I wanted to get the second one out quick, but updates will likely be a little slower from here. It's really fun to write these characters, i hope they aren't all too out of character. Any feedback or suggestions in the comments would be appreciated! :)


	3. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events Connie missed while he slept, and Reiner's promise.

__

Two days before

__

Reiner leant back against a wall and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, slightly panting as he caught his breath. The heat from the dead titans was still pretty unbearable, and he was getting exhausted. 

They had finally gathered all the survivors, and the dead, too. In front of him were at least a hundred people laid out on the ground, probably much more, in varying conditions. Most were just unconscious Eldians like Sasha, Marco and Connie. A few had woken up already, but they didn’t know yet if everyone would, at least there was hope for them, though, because A lot more of the people there were the unfortunate victims of the rumbling, or Eldians who had been fatally injured after being titanised. So many people were dying around him, it was hard to keep it together. No matter what he had done in the past, it never got easier to see people die.

Mikasa was sitting on the ground in the exact same spot she had been in for hours. She hadn’t spoken a word to anyone in so long, people had begun to worry about her. Afterall, she had just lost someone important to her, no matter what he had done in the end, she’d clearly loved Eren. 

Armin was pretty shaken up too, but had been distracting himself with work. He was the new acting commander now after all, with Hanji missing and presumed dead. He had to hold it together no matter how much it hurt, there were more important things to worry about than his grief. It definitely helped to not think about it, but he knew he'd eventually break down when he was alone later.

Jean had woken up pretty soon after Reiner had found him, he’d been one of the first, he was too weakened to help out though, so was instead sat with Marco, Sasha and Connie, who were all still unconscious, laid out on the ground with the other survivors. 

He was exhausted, every bone in his body ached like hell, but he refused to rest. He held Marco’s hand tight in his own, he had to be there for him when he woke up. 

* * *

“Hey, Reiner, can we get some help over here?” Pieck waved to Reiner, calling him over. She and Annie were helping the surviving Marleyan soldiers to put together some tents that looked hastily made from scraps of cloth and old rusty frames.

“We need to get the survivors out of the heat, and keep them away from the dead, can you help?” She was right, he doubted people enjoyed waking up next to corpses, but they’d had no other option up to now.

The first tent was quickly put up with his help, not that it looked any good. Annie and some others were setting up temporary beds inside, a few being actual beds they’d found from ruined houses or that had been donated by the survivors, though most were just a pile of sheets stacked together, much better than just the floor though.

He helped to find people to put into the first few tents, they were prioritizing children first, including Gabi. It hurt to see her here, amongst all this death, but at least she looked peaceful as she slept, he hoped she would wake up soon.

He knew she had been through too much in life, just like he had. At Gabi's age, he and Bertholdt had already killed so many in Shiganshina, at least she wouldn't have to go down the same path as him now that it was over, he hoped.

Falco had followed them in, sitting next to Gabi as Reiner laid her down gently in one of the beds. “Let me know when she wakes up, okay? Keep her safe for me Falco.” Reiner said, kneeling down to the boy's heart and ruffling his hair with a half-forced smile. The boy nodded furiously, determined to protect her. "Of course!"  
His request hadn't been entirely genuine though, he knew she'd be fine now anyway, but he wanted to give the kid something to do, to keep him from all the suffering still happening outside.

* * *

Reiner spent the rest of that long day setting up tents, after 20 or so he was too tired to go on. Pieck and Annie had given up and fallen asleep hours ago, but he’d stubbornly insisted on helping until they were done. The group of soldiers that had been helping him noticed his exhaustion though, and insisted they didn't have much more to do and that he should rest now.

Before that, Reiner needed to eat, wandering around awhile until finding a soldier handing out some bread, it was all they seemed to have at the moment, they were having to ration everything carefully until more supplies arrived in the morning. 

He ate as he walked back to the tent they had set up specifically for the group of titan shifters, finding Annie and Pieck asleep as expected. Falco wasn’t there yet, probably still back with Gabi. 

Armin hadn’t got there yet either, probably still pushing himself to help out. It was odd, that this room was pretty much all that remained of the warrior unit. It was just him, Pieck, Annie and the kids left. Udo and Zofia were gone, Porco and Colt too, they had lost them both so suddenly at once, it hurt to think about. No matter Zeke's betrayal, it still hurt a little to think of him being gone forever, too. He thought of Marcel, he'd probably think he was pathetic if he was alive now, he hadn't even been able to keep his brother alive, let alone the rest of them.

He finally decided to stop thinking about it and lie down, the beds were uncomfortable, but it was better than nothing. He led awake for a while, staring at the patchy roof of the tent and thinking of how fast things had changed since he'd revealed their betrayal to Eren, how stupid he had been to do that then. He wondered if Bertholdt would still be alive now if he hadn’t been so reckless in telling Eren that day, maybe if they'd just forgotten about the outside world, they could have been happy there.

He could still remember the reactions of his friends, if he was even allowed to call them friends anymore. Their screams of panic, disbelief and “Traitor” still echoed through his mind, keeping him from sleep. It was times like this when he desperately missed their training days, when nothing mattered as much, when they were as close as family. 

He hadn’t meant to get so close to everyone back then, Bertholdt had reminded him of that too many times over the years, but he couldn’t help it, the “Island devils” were the opposite of what he’d expected, no matter how much his warrior side tried to convince him of otherwise.

He had gotten so close with them that at times he’d forgotten everything he’d been taught about them back home, sure some of them were really weird, Sasha’s relationship with food freaked him out at times, but none of them were as evil as they were told to expect, most of them were kinder to him than any Marleyan had ever been.

How could they be evil? They had all been through so much pain, pain that was caused by his actions, almost all of them had lost family because of him. He wondered if Eren would have been the same man he'd died as if his mother had survived. Maybe everything could have been avoided, if Marcel hadn't saved him back then. 

He squeezed his eyes shut tight, he knew he shouldn't be thinking of things like that now, there’s no changing what has already happened.. 

Light poured into the tent as someone came in, he opened his eyes again after only a moment of trying to sleep, it was.. Captain Levi? 

He was carrying a sleeping falco, Reiner guessed he'd fallen asleep while watching over Gabi, he probably should have expected that.

The short man put Falco down on one of the empty beds, spotting Reiner on his way out "Keep an eye on the brats will you? Dumbass passed out because he forgot to eat anything." pfft, was Levi actually being thoughtful? This day just kept getting more weird.

With a predictable glare at Reiner, he left, leaving him in darkness once again. 

He thought of his friends once more before falling asleep, looking over at Falco. He hoped that someday, he and Gabi could be happy like he was once, with friends like he had, with no secrets or betrayal.

With that, he fell asleep.

* * *

Falco woke up in the afternoon, almost a whole day later. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he didn't recognise where he was. "When did I.. Where's Gabi?" he mumbled to nobody in particular. 

"Oh, Falco! You're up too." it was Pieck, smiling warmly at him from the next bed over, and noticed his confusion "Ah, you passed out after looking after Gabi all day. Captain Levi himself had to bring you back here!" she chuckled at that last bit, even she knew of the man's usual attitude towards others.

"I did..?" He remembered it a little differently than that, he was sure that the Captain had been trying to make him eat something, and he'd got so scared of him that he'd passed out, how embarrassing...

"mhm, well okay, I should go back to Gabi then.." he pushed himself off his bed, onto his feet. 

"Not so fast!" big arms grabbed him from behind, and lifted him up onto a broad shoulder. It was Reiner, of course.

"You've been sleeping for a whole day, you need some food and water, Fal, or you won't get strong like me and Annie!" Annie rolled her eyes from the next bed over, a smile sneaking onto her face.

Falco laughed, smiling wide "Okay! But then I wanna see Gabi!" they nodded in agreement. 

The four of them left together, heading to a spot between their tent and some others, that had been newly designated for eating. 

Reiner let Falco down off his shoulder and they all sat down to eat and drink. Falco hadn't realised how hungry he was until that moment, and started shoveling food into his mouth, the slightly stale bread and vegetables tasted like heaven to his starved self.

Reiner nodded to Annie, who was still standing, and she slipped away, heading into a different tent.

Falco, distracted by the food in front of him, hadn't noticed she'd even left until she returned just a minute later, Gabi following behind hanging onto Annie's arm as she struggled a little to walk. 

"Gabi!?" Falco exclaimed in shock, mouth still full. He quickly swallowed what he had been eating and made sure he didn't have any food on his face (he did). 

She smiled as they reached the table, "Falco, hey." she didn't sound great, but she was awake! "How long ago did you wake up? I'm sorry I wasn't there." he was glad, but frowned, he wished he could have been there when she'd woken up, he'd been planning on telling her something important then... "I woke up in the night, so don't worry, you would have been sleeping anyway." she sat down next to him, as Pieck slid over some food for her "So, Annie told me you didn't eat anything yesterday, what are you, an idiot?! What if I woke up and you'd _died,_ stupid." She shook her head in disbelief "that's why I couldn't die back there you know, the universe knew you'd just go and die without me here." it sounded pretty mean, but she was blushing ever so slightly. Falco smiled, she'd obviously been worried about him. 

"Aaaw, Gabi, you have such a _crush_!" it was Pieck, smiling smugly at the two. 

"Eew no way!!" Yelled Gabi, a bit too loudly to be genuine. Both of them scooted away from each other, their faces bright red, as the other warriors laughed. "don't ever change you two." said Pieck through giggles.

* * *

Over the rest of the day, people continued to gradually wake up. It was a good sign, they hadn’t been sure that everyone would yet, but things were looking up.

Jean had been half asleep, leaning over Marco and still holding onto his hand with both of his own when he finally woke up, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes as he finally escaped a horrible nightmare, as everyone had before him. 

"Jean?" his voice was a little strained as he took in his surroundings, a weak smile spreading across his face as he realised how long Jean must have been waiting for him there.

"Mmh.. What.." Jean sat up slowly, not processing what he'd heard for a few seconds and rubbed his eyes, before his head shot up to look at Marco, any sign he'd ever been tired gone. 

Jean didn't have time to speak, instead diving in to hug him, trying his best to be gentle - he knew how weak he probably felt right now - and buried his head in Marco's shoulder. "You woke up, you really woke up!" relief washed over him, as he held onto Marco tightly, never wanting to let go ever again. He couldn’t hold back the tears of relief now, usually he hated crying in front of others, but it didn't matter, this was Marco, his Marco. Part of him had been worrying the whole time, that his luck would have finally run out.

Marco smiled, the situation reminded him of how Jean had reacted after the Trost mission, that had been the first time Jean had said ‘I love you.’, after he'd almost been killed. "yeah, I did, and you're here for me again." he hugged him back finally, his arms finally feeling strong enough to. He angled his head down to kiss Jean on the forehead, to help him calm down a little, while rubbing gentle, soothing circles on his back.

* * *

Unlike Marco’s calm awakening, Sasha woke with a yell, scaring everyone close by. Like everyone else she'd woken from a nightmare, looking shaken up for a few moments, before noticing who was there with her, and forgetting all about the nightmare.

"Ms Sasha woke up!!" it was Falco, him and Gabi had been sitting on her bed for a while, waiting there just in case she woke up, and keeping her company while she slept. The pair carefully climbed over and hugged her. 

"Aaw were you two looking after me?" Sasha said, smiling weakly as she tried her best to hug them back. "Of course! Gabi didn't want you to wake up alone." said Falco. "yeah, of course!" added Gabi, the two smiling proudly.

 _Gahh, these kids are too adorable_ Sasha thought to herself. She remembered then, what had happened. "How is everyone else? Do you know if Connie and Jean woke up? They were standing in front of us back then, Gabi." she assumed she couldn’t be the only one, Gabi was here after all. She wasn't sure if they'd know, but it was worth asking. 

"hm.." Gabi thought hard, trying to remember the people she’d seen and heard about over the time she’d been awake.

"Oh, the one with the weird long hair is Jean right? I saw him awake earlier!" Gabi exclaimed, proud to be helpful. "Yeah, and I think Reiner said Connie was still sleeping." Falco added. 

"Thanks, you two.” Sasha tightened their hug for a moment, before letting go and speaking again. “Okay, go let someone know I woke up, they're probably making a list right? And I need some food in me!" the two nodded enthusiastically, enjoying that they were able to be helpful in some way after just sitting around all day, and left her alone.

Sasha was a little worried, it was good that Jean was awake, Marco probably was too, she figured. but she hoped Connie would be okay, and anyone else still sleeping.

* * *

After they had left, Sasha looked down at her hand and smiled, it was still there, her ring. She slid her thumb over the silver band, admiring the deep red of the stone in it’s centre, still as beautiful as it was when she first saw it, just a couple of months ago. She couldn’t believe it had survived through all this, she was sure she’d end up losing it if she’d survived. She couldn’t wait to get home, back to him. She was sure he was already cooking up something crazy for her to eat once she got home.

After 10 minutes or so of getting a little extra rest, Sasha heard some familiar voices. "Hey, Sasha." Marco was the first into the tent, an arm looped around Jean to keep himself steady. He looked like he hadn't been awake long either, made more obvious by Jean's puffy eyes.

"Hey you guys!" Sasha leaned forward as much as she could in her weakened state, and pulled them into a big hug "we made it." she said, smiling at them both. The pair hugged her back “As soon as Connie wakes up, we’ll have all made it through this together.” Jean said, small tears forming at the corner of his eyes again. 

Sasha realised then that they weren't alone, Annie, Armin and Reiner were there too, smiling at her from just behind Marco and Jean. Well, _Armin_ was smiling, the other two just stood there kind of awkwardly. “Um, Gabi and Falco had to help Pieck with something, so they made us come too.” Said Annie, gesturing vaguely to herself and Reiner, Sasha nodded her head in acknowledgement, smiling to try make them feel more welcome.

"I'm so glad you're okay Sasha, that's almost all of the scouts now!" Armin smiled wide. He looked sad though, and tired, underneath. They must have had to kill Eren after all, she figured, that was probably why Mikasa wasn’t here too.

They all talked together for a while, until Armin had to go back to work, and Marco got tired, it wasn’t quite night, but he was meant to be resting now anyway "Goodnight Sasha!" he yelled to her as he left with Jean. "G'night lovebirds!" she shouted back, hearing an embarrassed _“Sashaa._ ” from Jean, it was so fun to tease them. 

It was just Annie and Reiner left there now, they hadn't really spoken much at all, instead just trying to give her some extra company. Reiner suddenly turned to leave, feeling awkward, before Sasha suddenly cried, "AH, I forgot!!" she slapped a hand to her head, mad at herself for her mistake. 

"Is something wrong?" Annie asked, looking up from her spot on the ground. "Yeah! I completely forgot! I was going to ask Jean to keep an eye on Connie for me." she groaned, dramatically throwing herself back to lie down, pouting at the tent’s ceiling. 

"Oh, I can get them if you want..? They probably didn't get far." Reiner turned back again. "Naah, there's no point now, he’s probably busy looking after Marco, and they're meant to be resting anyway right? Gaah." She hadn't noticed the flaws in her plan until then. 

Sasha sat back up again, having way too much energy for someone in her position, with a new idea in mind "Annie! Please can you do it for me! Pleaseee! I’ll give you my food for a day!" she promised, it would be hard to convince the other girl. Sasha grabbed the other Annie's hand, pleadingly. "uuhm.. well.." Annie started "I don’t want your food, but guess I coul-" 

"I'll do it." Reiner cut her off, "He’s staying in the same tent as Gabi right now, so, it would be easy." he told himself it was to keep Annie from having to be uncomfortable right now, but really, he was worried about Connie too, now that Sasha was awake, there were only around five people still sleeping.

"Oh really, you will?!” she was surprised but relieved, Annie rolled her eyes and laughed a little, she was a little glad to get out of watching Connie. “Thanks so much Reiner!" Sasha beamed "You better come get me the second he wakes up, okay!! Promise me!!" Reiner laughed, her energy was so contagious "Of course I will, I'll come get you straight away, promise.”

After a few moments of sitting in silence, Sasha thought of something, wanting to make some sort of conversation. “Hmm, hey, remember the time Connie put a frog in Marco’s bag?” Sasha giggled at the memory. Annie gasped “Oh my god, _Hopper._ I forgot all about that.” It felt like so long ago now. Back in their training days, they’d been camping for “survival skills” or something like that, Connie had the amazing idea to prank Marco by hiding a frog in his supply bag, only for Marco to immediately fall in love with the creature, naming it ‘Hopper’ and keeping it around until they had to leave.

Reiner spoke, finally looking somewhat happy “Do you remember the look on Connie’s face? He was so pissed.” They laughed together, it was nice really, to speak to Reiner and Annie like this despite the past. It was just like back then, before… before everything went wrong.

Sasha felt a little panicked then, no longer able to ignore it. She didn’t _want_ to, these were her friends! But, she was alone with them right now, two people that had betrayed them before. She couldn't help but think of it. She tried to hide her moment of panic, instead bringing up some other shared memory. It was easier to continue talking to Annie, she’d been the one to spare Marco after all, and had spent the rest of the time up to now in a crystal anyway. It was more difficult with Reiner. She couldn’t help thinking about the things he’d done back then.

He must have noticed her discomfort, because one second he was laughing along to some story, and the next he was leaving. “I’ll uh, get Armin again, he can take you to eat.” Sasha immediately felt guilty as she saw how hurt he looked. Annie just had to sit and watch as it happened, she felt somewhat guilty too, she knew the only reason people weren’t treating her the same way was because of Marco. “I’m sorry!” Sasha managed, feeling dumber than usual, it was probably too late for him to have heard, though.

Annie sighed, swallowing her pride and giving the girl a hug, “It’s alright, he’s just struggling a lot right now.” Sasha actually felt a little worse from that “he might look all scary, but I know he desperately wants to be friends with everyone again.” She offered a small smile, sitting down next to Sasha.

“I know, you were all just kids back then, I can’t hate any of you for that.” Sasha smiled again, back to her usual self. “You were just like Gabi, it wasn’t any of your fault really.” Annie smiled at that, she’d never really let herself think of it that way before “I wish we’d had someone like you back then, like Gabi has now, maybe all this could have been avoided if we did.” Sasha felt proud of that, she never really realised just how much all those kids looked up to her, Gabi, Falco, and Kaya back home, too.

* * *

“I don’t need your help, blondie!” Sasha yelled stubbornly, refusing Armin’s offer to help her walk, standing up confidently before taking a single step and immediately falling down. “Oow..”

Annie snorted “Nice one.” while Armin panickedly made sure she wasn’t hurt. Sasha pouted from her new spot on the ground “Annie you’re so mean!” she laughed then too, Letting the two help her up, and they left to eat together.

* * *

Reiner made his way to the tent he knew Gabi and Connie had been in, luckily it was pretty close to his own, so he could find it easily, upon entering, he found Gabi and Falco talking quietly while sat on her bed, they must have finished whatever task they’d been given my Pieck.

Silently smiling and waving to the two, careful not to wake up any of the people resting in the room, Reiner looked around, smiling a little when he spotted Connie conveniently sleeping in the bed next to Gabi’s.

The beds here seemed much less comfortable than the ones he and the other shifters had been using, just being a layer of sheets and rags, with a pillow for a few lucky ones. He sat down on the ground next to where Connie was sleeping, he wouldn’t be there too long, he thought, almost everyone was awake by now after all.

However after a couple hours of Reiner just sitting around, and talking to Gabi and Falco occasionally, he started to worry a little, Armin had come in a while ago to let them know everyone else had woken up now, and that Connie was the only one left. Soon the sky had darkened, and Falco had reluctantly left to sleep back in their tent. He thought he probably should do the same, but every time he considered it, he worried that Connie would wake up while he left, and he’d have broken his promise to Sasha, or something worse. There had been a few cases of people dying in their sleep, though most of them had been injured or sick already, he still worried he wouldn't be there to help if he woke up and needed him. He knew he couldn’t forgive himself if he’d let one of his comrades die. _Or ex-comrades,_ he thought with a frown.

As the tent was completely filled with darkness, Reiner decided to lie in the empty bed on the opposite side of Connie, it wasn’t much better than the floor really, but at least he could lie down properly and get a little rest. He turned his head to the side to look at him, just about visible in the moonlight. He seemed peaceful, his whole body looked relaxed, and his lips were parted ever so slightly, letting out quiet breaths. Reiner’s eyes lingered there just a second too long, before turning away again and closing his eyes, finding the sounds of Connie’s quiet breathing comforting, knowing that he was still alive as long as he could hear that sound.

And then, as he led there, unsure of how much time had passed anymore, he heard a quick shift of sheets, and the formerly even pattern of the breaths had changed to an unsteady pant and gasps for breath.

He opened his eyes slowly, to see Connie sitting upright, looking over towards Gabi, probably trying to understand what happened. Reiner was silent, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything yet as he sat up. Connie was yet to notice him, instead running a hand through his overgrown hair, he looked surprisingly handsome for someone who’d been asleep for the last two days. He wasn’t sure why he’d had that thought, but didn't have time to think about it as Connie turned suddenly, moving to get up, and finally noticed Reiner sitting there, still looking shocked to see him awake.

“Oh, hey Reiner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter is good, it took me a while to get it to a point where I liked it gaah. let me know in the comments if there are any mistakes, they're so easy to miss!!
> 
> If anyone wants to see how Marco looks here, I've posted some drawings of how I imagined him to look on [my tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/aveybee31), :)  
> Direct links:[Marco](https://aveybee31.tumblr.com/post/645834706188959744/you-know-what-fuck-you-unkills-your), [Jean and Marco](https://aveybee31.tumblr.com/post/645949571052306432/finished-the-drawing-from-earliers-post-so-proud)


End file.
